Thinking man's microcompact

By Chris Jackson

Updated:
10/29/2012 11:53:22 AM EDT

2012 Scion IQ

Swinging into a donut shop parking lot, I caught a glimpse of my car in the reflection from the windows and was struck again at just how ridiculous the Scion iQ looks. The styling is confident enough when it's parked, but Scion's stumpy little microcompact just looks ridiculous in motion.

Aburly guy on a Harley watched me pull in, and I figured he was thinking the same thing. I expected him to make fun of it, but instead he asked, "What kind of mileage does that thing get if you drive it like a real car?" When he heard the iQ's 37mpg freeway fuel economy, he whistled. "I got a $50,000 Ford Raptor at home, and I gotta put a hundred bucks of gas in it every three days. I oughtta sell it and get me one of those," he said. He wasn't joking, either; his grizzled face was the face of a man who planned to visit a Scion dealer at his nearest opportunity.

Scion probably wasn't planning to pick up conquest sales from full-size trucks with the iQ, which hit the streets as an answer to the half-pint Smart Fortwo as an extreme urban commuter. This car is about ultra-compact dimensions and space efficiency; decent fuel economy is just a pleasing side benefit.

Even considering its size this is a distinctive vehicle.

The iQ is aggressively wedgeshaped and triangular, with a steeply raked nose and a vertical back window. The rear glass wraps around the back of the car, increasing the window space of the tiny greenhouse, and the body is tall, upright and stubby.

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The iQ's fenders and wheels appear to be bursting out of an even smaller car, and the available sixteen-inch wheels make the iQ look like a vehicular nymph that's going to grow into a larger car.

This may look like half a car, but it's actually full-size on the inside, and cute to boot.

It's a full 14 inches longer than the Smart Fortwo, and it drives a lot more conventionally. The additional length is put to fantastic use, too. Driver and front passenger have as much leg, hip- and headroom as in a conventionallysized vehicle - and more than in some compact pickups and subcompacts I've driven in recent years, in fact. Thanks to clever relocation of behindthe- dash hardware, the passenger seat can slide forward far enough to stuff an adult into the back seat behind it as well, an arrangement that Scion calls "3+1" seating.

There's a seat behind the driver as well, but it's best reserved for children and watermelons. Most of the time, the iQ works best as a two-seat vehicle. Fold down the rear seat and you can squeeze a week's worth of groceries or a decent pile of shopping bags or luggage. With the seats up, the 3.5 cubic feet of cargo space is barely enough for a bag or two.

It may be small, but the iQ earns premium-compact honors with its standard 160-watt Pioneer sound system and Bluetooth connectivity. Anavigation system is also available, accessible via a seveninch touch screen on the dash.

There's not a lot of car here, in spite of the interior space, so it doesn't need a lot of engine. The 1.3 liter fourcylinder under that stubby hood is smaller than some motorcycle engines. It's got variable valve timing that helps it to make the most of its 94 horsepower. The iQ tumbles along just fine, and doesn't have any problems catching or keeping up with traffic.

The standard transmission is a continuously variable automatic, and the driving experience in the iQ isn't all that different than what you'll get in any other small subcompact, except that the car ends about three feet behind you.

The most difficult part of making a car smaller is finding space for all of the mechanical parts, of course.

The engine and transmission take up minimal space thanks to a compact differential. With the heart of the iQ located, Scion then packaged the rest of the mechanical stuff carefully around it. The compact electronic power-steering rack is mounted high and the MacPherson front suspension also takes up minimal space.

The torsion-bar rear suspension is similarly designed for as little wasted space as possible. Even while aiming for space savings in the suspension, Scion managed to get a lot of the short-wheelbase choppy ride out of the iQ, so it tumbles along the pavement just fine. The trick is width.

The iQ is wide for its size, so it's remarkably stable. There's still a bit of bounce on the freeway, but it's not as uncomfortable as the Smart Fortwo, its natural enemy. And of course it's amazingly nimble. The steering is light and responsive, and if ever there was a car designed for parking lots, it's the iQ. Just be sure to park toward the back of your space, otherwise an unwitting shopper may pull in and hit your car, not realizing the space was occupied.

Front-disc, rear-drum antilock brakes with brake-force distribution are standard, as are traction control and Scion's Vehicle Stability Control. Abig concern for drivers of tiny cars is the rest of the traffic on the road; specifically, the plethora of two-ton SUVs prowling the freeways. The iQ stands up proudly to bigger cars in terms of safety, with eleven standard airbags, including a rear-window airbag that protects the heads of passengers in a rear impact. It may look slightly ridiculous, but the Scion iQ is a seriously well thought-out vehicle. Brilliant compact packaging and an efficient design are combined with an interior that's usable out in the real world. Unlike the Smart Fortwo, the iQ is able to adapt to driving conditions beyond the inner city without forcing changes in your driving style. All of that's wrapped in a package that catches the eye of even the toughest manly-man in a random parking lot. Scion iQ pricing starts at $15,265.

After the optional Pioneer sound system and satellite radio were added, my test car stickered for $17,068.

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